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UK officials downplay security issues

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The government was already deploying 3,500 military personnel to cover shortfalls

Security contractor G4S has said it can't supply the number of guards it promised

British lawmakers forced the G4S chief to concede security was a "shambles"

The British government will deploy an extra 1,200 troops for Olympics security, Sports Secretary Jeremy Hunt announced Tuesday.

The 1,200 military personnel come on top of 3,500 already called up specially this month after security contractor G4S said it would not be able to supply the number of guards it promised.

The new deployments bring the number of troops guarding the Olympics to 18,200, the government says.

The Games begin Friday.

The Ministry of Defence is deploying two warships, Typhoon fighter jets and Puma helicopters as part of their Olympics security arrangements. The army is also putting high-velocity missile batteries on the roofs of some apartment buildings in London, despite the objections of some residents.

The chief executive of G4S, Nick Buckles, faced a grilling last week by British lawmakers furious about the security situation. They forced him on July 17 to agree that the fiasco is "a humiliating shambles."

Buckles said the company should not have agreed to provide 10,400 guards for the Olympics, six days after the security giant admitted it could not do so.

"We regret signing the contract," he said under pressure from lawmakers.